Interviewing in the Job Market in the Twenty-First Century

Jacqueline Jones, University of Texas at Austin, and vice president, AHA Professional Division

Session Abstract

Since the mid-1990s, the Professional Division has organized an annual workshop to provide advice to historians on the job market. By participating in these workshops, job candidates can approach interviews better prepared to present themselves and their qualifications for the job. This is good for the candidates, good for hiring departments, and good for the profession.

The division recruits volunteer interviewers who represent the wide range of job possibilities for Ph.D.s in history, including research institutions, four-year colleges, community colleges, secondary schools, museums, publishing houses, historical societies, national and state parks, and the business world to engage in informal conversation about strategies for finding a position in their field.

Division vice-president Jacqueline Jones will make some brief introductory remarks, emphasizing the range of possibilities for Ph.D.s in history. Volunteers will then introduce themselves, and job candidates will sort themselves out for discussions according to their interests.

The session is co-sponsored by the Committee for Graduate Students and the Coordinating Council for Women in History.